Hinge



W. L. EVANS, JR.

HINGE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.22. 1919.

1,412,108. Patented Apr. 11, 1922. Q

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INVENTOR W l'T'NESSES 6 1 141 ilfklj lma wL/ AITORNEY which will prevent the door from sagging,

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LEWIS EVANS, JR, OF WASHINGTON, INDIANA.

HINGE.

i,412,1os.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

Application filed December 22, 1919; SeriaINo. 846,455.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. EVANS, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vashington, in the county of Daviess and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Hinge, of which the following is a s ification.

his invention relates to a hinge of the multiple pivot lever type, designed particularly for use with the doors of water closets, screen partitions, ventilated wardrobes and other structures, for causing the doors to vanish within the stall frames or compartments, when opened. The invention is an improvement on the construction shown, described and claimed in my Patent Number 1,367,954., dated Feb. 8, 1921.

The object of the invention is to provide a hinge for the doors of the structures named, which, when the door vanishes within the compartment or stall is caused to lie along the side of the compartment, thereby enabling the use of a shorter stall or compartment, than if the door were arranged to swing in on ordinary hinges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hinge for the doors of such structures which is more easily and conveniently operated than the ordinary door hungto swing inwardly, it being possible by the present invention for the operator to stand near the entrance and close the door, and not have to step out 'of the way, as the door closes by moving around him.

A further object is to provide a hinge will work noiselessly and with little effort, and will not permit slamming of the door, and which will cause the door to stay open or closed or partially so.

In the aforesaid patent, I have disclosed a hinge for connecting a movable member, such as a door, to a stationary member, such as a booth or other compartment, said hinge comprising two pairs of arms, each pair being located respectively at the top and bottom of the door, the pair at the top being pivoted to the inside face of the door and to the top of the compartment, and the pair at the bottom to the inside face of the door and the. bottom of the compartment. The pivots of the arms} on the door and on the compartment are spaced apart, with the space between the pivots on the door greater than the space between the pivots on the compartment, the pivots on the door being arranged on opposite sides of the vertical center of the door but nearer to the center than to the side edges of said door. The pivots on the compartments are located respectively on the floor and ceiling of the compartment thereof on a line substantially at right angles to the entrance of the compartment, and at different distances from such entrance.

In the present construction, I have located both pivots on the door at one side of the vertical center of the door, and I have placed the pivots on the compartment on the jamb, instead of on the floor and ceiling thereby giving a clear space to enter the stall or compartment, with no part of the hinge standing in the way to step on or trip the occupant going to or from the stall. The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showin of the drawings, but may be change and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark -no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a vertical transverse section of a water closet stall looking toward the front so as to'show the manner of hinging the door;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on an enlarged scale indicating by dotted lines the progressive movement of the door in shifting from its closed position'to its open position;

Figure 3 is an elevation looking toward the door, which is shown in its closed position, and illustrating the mounting 'of the hinge plates or socket members on the jamb and door respectively, and the hinge arms connecting the same;

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the socket members or hinge plates of the jamb;

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the socketmembers or hinge plates of the door;

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the hinge arms.

Like reference characters indicate egrresponding parts on the several figures of the drawing.

1, 1, designate the sidewalls or members of a water closet stall or other compartment '5 having the usual door 2. It is customary in hanging water closet doors to set them up from the floor and down from the top of the opening, and use a shorter door than the height of the opening, and I have followed this plan in illustrating the application of my invention.

The drawing shows a hinge at the top and another hinge at the bottom of the door. As the hinges are duplicates of each other,

understanding of the other. Fastened to the part which might be termed the door jamb, designated 3, is a hinge element, plate or socket member 4, preferabl of the specific form shown in Fig. 4 of the rawings. It is substantially right angular in" plan view, so as to fit around one side and one edge of the jamb, being secured in position by one or more bolts and nuts, indicated by 5, (Fig. 2), the bolts being threaded in transverse holes 6 provided in the hinge plate or socket member 4. At the opposite ends of the hinge plate or member, there are formed substantially cylindrical enlargements 0r bosses, in which are provided vertical holes or sockets 7, which extend part way through the bosses,as indicated by the dotted lines, Figure 3. When these hin e plates are applied to the door jamb in t e manner shown inFigures 1, 2 and 3, the cylindrical bosses are located respectively inside and outside the entrance to the stall or compartment, the inner socket being arranged at an angle to the outer socket. These hinge plates or socket members are shown as formed in one piece, but, obviously, the could be made in two pieces. if desired, wit out afiecting the operation.

Mounted on the inside face of the door at the top and bottom are the socket members or door plates 8, shown in detail in Figure 5. They are shown as made each of one piece, but may be constructed of separate pieces, if desired. Each socket member or door plate is secured to the door by screws or bolts, and has a pair of cylindrical bosses pro'ecting therefrom. These bosses are forme with vertical sockets 9, which extend partway the length thereof, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3.

10, 1O designate the individual members ofa pair of hinge arms, one part at the top and one at the bottom. As shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, these arms have downturned terminals 11 and upturned terminals 12. These should be constructed exactly vertical, so as to fit loosel and turn in the sockets 7 of the jamb plates 4 and the sockets 9 of the door plates 8. These arms 65 are of the same length, though it is not aba description of one will sufiice for a full door jamb. On the other han the pivots solutely necessary that they should be so constructed. A slight variation would not materially affect the operation of the hinge, but for commercial reasons it is desirable that they should be made of the same len th.

The construction of the hinge arms 10 oes not difi'er materiall from the corresponding elements of the a oresaid patent, but the manner of pivotally connecting said arms tothe movable member, (the door and the stationar member, (the door jam is materially ifierent from that disclosed in said patent. In the present application, the socket members 8 are disposed at one side of the vertical axis of the door, instead of on opposite sides of said axis, as in my patent. Moreover, the space between the sockets or pivots on the door, is considerably less than the space between the sockets or ivots on the on the stationa member arenot located on the floor and t e ceiling as in my patent, but they are fastened to the door jamb, respectively above the floor and below the ceiling.

7 In this way, I have removed all the plates and arms from the floor, giving a clear space to enter the stall and leaving no part of the hinge in the way to step on or trip the occupant goin to and from the stall.

Also, by iastening the hinge to the jamb the door can be set at any height from the floor or down any distance from the top of. the opening. In opening the door, the operator does not have to ste out of the way of the door in order to pull it open, for when the door is pulled toward the operator, it moves from him at the same time.

The operation is very clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, wherein the progressive movement of the'door from the closed to the open position is shown in dotted lines. It will be observed that when the door is closed, as shown in full lines, the inner arm is substantially parallel with the door, the outer arm crossing the top of the door, the pivot of the outer arm on the jamb being outside the door. In the dotted line position, marked a, the door has assume an inclined position, the two arms 115 moving together, though the inner arm has moved somewhat faster than the outer arm. Continuing the opening movement of the door to the dotted line position b, the outer arm moves faster than the inner arm, travel- 120 .ing a greater distance in order to assume the position shown by the dotted line b. It

will be noted that these arms at no time assume a parallel position, standing always at more or less of an angle to each other,

as Figure 2 shows.

When the dooris in its open position, the

greater portion of the door vanishes within the stall, only the end of the door projecting beyond the stall entrance. In actual operation the door moves inwardly twice. the length of the arms. Hence the extent to which the door vanishes within the stall can be regulated by increasing or decreasing the length'of the arms.

The door is more easily operated than an ordinary door which is hung to swing inwardly, for the operator can stand close to the opening and close the door, and not have to step out-of the way of the door, as the door closes by swinging around him.

It is within the scope of this invention that it may be adapted for many other uses than for water closet doors, for instance, it could be applied to doors for screen partitions, ventilated wardrobes, and wherever it is desired to provide a hinge in structures in order to economize space.

The construction provides an ideal arrangement for water closets, booths and compartments which are necessarily made as small as possible, and which must be provided with doors to close the same.

The objectionable slamming of the door is done away with by this invention, for the door moves slowly, yet noiselessly, and its operation may be effected with the expenditure of little efiort.

By the term compartment in the claims, I do not wish to be understood as confininglmyself to a structure bounded by four wa s, for the invention could be applied to doors or other movable members employed to close openings in which the opening would not necessarily be an entrance to a definite compartment. For instance, it might be merely a. passageway.

In some applications of the invention a pair of hinges is sufiicient, but in a majority of instances, two pairs are necessary.

Certain of the claims of this application are generic to the constructions disclosed in my co-pending applications Serial Nos. 346 456; 447,417; 447,418 and 447 ,419.

I-laving described the invention, I claim- 1. The combination with a stationary member and a movable member, of a hinge for connectin one end of the movable member to the adjacent side of the stationary member comprisin a pair of arms both pivotally connecte to the same end of the movable member and to the adjacent side of the stationary member, the pivotal connections of said arms with the movable member being located at one side of the longitudinal center thereof, and the pivotal connections with the stationary member being located on opposite sides of the movable member when the latter is closed.

2. The combination with movable and stationary members, of a hinge comprising a pair of arms independently pivoted to said members at spaced points, the pivotal connections of said arms with the stationary member being spaced apart a distance which the movable member extends when open.

3. The combination with movable and stationary members, of a hinge comprising a pair of arms having downturned and upturned terminals, a socket member secured to the movable member and receiving the upturned terminals, and a socket plate secured to the stationary member and receiving the downturned terminals of said arms, said socket plate when in place on the stationary member having its sockets in angular relation.

4. The combination with movable and stationary members, of a hinge comprising a pair of arms, means for pivotally connecting one of the ends of each of the said arms to the movable member, and other means for pivotally connecting the other of the ends of each of said arms to that side of the stationary meinber alon which the movable member swings when in open position, said arms being arranged out of parallelism with each other at all periods of their movement, whereby the movable member may be caused to swing from an open to a closed position.

5. The combination with a compartment having a door member, of a hinge for the door member comprisin two pairs of arms, and means for indepen ently pivoting each pair to the door member and the door jamb respectively, the-pivotal connections of the arms to the door member being located'at one side of the vertical center of the door and at a less distance apart than the space between the pivotal connections of the arms to the door jamb, whereby when the door is closed one of the arms assumes a position substantially parallel with the door, while the other arm is located at an angle to the door.

6. The combination with a compartment having an opening, of a door member for closing said opening, means for pivotally cbnnecting said door member to said compartment, said means comprising two pairs of pivoted arms, one pair at the top and the other pair at the bottom, said arms being pivoted at one of their ends to the face of the door member and at the other of their ends to the door jamb, the pivotal connections of the individual arms of each pair to, the door jamb being located in different vertical planes. I

7. The combination with a compartment having an opening, of a door member for closing said opening, means for pivotally connecting said door member to said compartment, said means comprising two pairs of pivoted arms, one pair at the top and the other pair at the bottom, means for pivotally connecting'each of said arms at, one i of their ends to' the door member at spaced having an opening, of a door member for closing said opening, means for pivotally connecting said door member to said compartment, said means comprising two: pairs of pivoted arms, one pair at the bottom and one pair at the top, means provided on the door for pivotally connecting one of the ends of each of said arms thereto at spaced points at one side of the vertical center thereof, and other means for pivotall connecting the other ends of each of sai arms to the door jamb, the pivotal connections of. the individual arms of each pair to the door jamb being located in diflerent vertical planes and respectively. outside of and within the compartment.

9. The combination with a compartment having an opening, of a door member for closing said opening, means for pivotally connecting said door member to said compartment, said means comprising a pair of arms, means for pivotally connecting one of the ends of each of. said arms to the door at spaced points thereon, and an angular socket member secured to the door j amb and carry ing sockets located in difierent vertical planes to receive the other ends of each of said arms, whereby the pivotal connections of the arms to the door jamb are disposed at difierent distances from the opening to the compartment. k

10. The combination with a compartment having'an opening, of adoor member for closing said opening, means for pivotally connecting said member to said compartment, said means comprising a pair of arms, means for pivotally connecting one of the ends of each of said-arms to the door member at spaced points, and other means for pivotally connecting the other ends of each of said arms to the door jamb, the latter means comprising an angular plate fitted to the door jamb and having a pair of sockets in which the ends of the arms are received, said sockets being respectively located inside and outside the compartment.

11. The combination with a'compartment having an opening, of a door member forclosing said 9 ening, means for pivotally connecting sai door member to said compartment, said means comprising two pairs of pivoted arms, one pair at the top and the other pair at the bottom, means for ivotally connecting said arms at one of t eir ends to the door member at spaced points,

and other meansfor pivotally connecting the other ends of said arms to the compartmentiat Spacedpoints, the pivotal connections of the individual arms 'of each pair to the compartmentbeing located respectively outside of andwithin. the compartment, and

on o posite sides of the door when in its close position. v 12. The combination with a stationary member, of a movable member, and means for pivotally connecting said movable member to said stationary, member, so as to move said movable member from an open to a' closed position, comprising a pair of arms, means for pivotally connecting said arms to' said movable member, and other means for pivotally connecting-said arms to said sta tionary member, saldlast-mentioned means havin the pivots spaced apart and located at di erent distances from the movable member when in its closed position and disposed at that side of said stationary member toward, or against which said movable member swings when open.-

13. The combination with a compartment,

of a door for closing an entrance or opening thereof, and means for pivotally connecting said door to said compartment, comprising a pair of arms, a socket member having a pair of sockets in each of which one of the ends of each of said-arms is mounted to turn, said socket member being fixed to said door at one side of the vertical center thereof, and other means for pivotally connecting said arms to said compartment, said last-mentioned means having the pivots spaced apart and located at that side of said entrance or opening'toward or against which said door swings when open.

14. The combination with a compartment, of a door for closing an entrance or opening thereof, and means for pivotally connectin said door to said compartment, comprlsing a pair of arms, means for pivotally connecting said arms to said door, and a socket plate or member having a pair of sockets in which said arms are pivotally mounted, said socket plate or member being locatedat that side of said entrance or openmg towardv or against which said door swings when 0 n.

15. The com ination with a stationary member, of a movable member, and means for pivotally connecting said movable membar to said stationary member, comprising a air of arms, means for pivotally connecting said arms to said movable member, and an angular jamb plate or socket member havm a pa1r of sockets, one at each end, provi 'ng means for. pivotally connectin said arms to said stationary-member, said jamb plate or socket member having means for fastening the same directly to the stationary member. 7

16. A hinge comprising a pair of plates,

f length so as to dispose its ends in angular relation, one of the ends of each arm being pivotally connected to the ends of the bent plate, the other end of each arm being pivotally connected to the other plate at spaced points thereon.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing 15 as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM LEWIS EVANS, JR.

Witnesses:

C. K. MCWILLIAMS, WM. GEO. HEFFERNAN. 

